Submitted:  Jeanne Christensen, RSM

As people of faith, we are called to respect and value the life and dignity of every person.  The dignity and lives of many workers are not valued or respected.  Worldwide and in the United States are forced to work inordinate hours, under terrible conditions and for little or no pay.  They are slaves – modern-day slaves.  How Many Slaves Work for You?  Consider how many of them may be children.  Go to the Slavery Footprint and find out – it’s very disturbing because it identifies how many things in our ordinary lives are the result of someone being enslaved.  Visit  https://slaveryfootprint.org to find out for yourself.

These enslaved persons are victims of human trafficking, they are victims of coercion, force and/or fraud.  Person under age eighteen who are exploited in any way are considered trafficked, even if none of the three criteria are present.  It is particularly onerous that children are forced to labor in mines, slaughter houses, factories and other dangerous, unsanitary or unsafe locations. 

Human Trafficking thrives because it is based on the economic principles of supply and demand, a direct correlation with unchecked consumerism, the desire for cheap goods and services, and instant gratification and the growth or production of goods to meet the demand.  Other factors contributing to forced labor include profit for those who produce or grow the goods, transport them, those who sell them and those who purchase them. 

How to begin to address the injustice of forced labor?  Practicing ethical consumerism is one way.  It is a type of consumer activism based on the concept of dollar voting.  People can practice it when they buy ethically made products.  Products that support small-scale manufacturers and local artisans and protect animals and the environment.  

Furthermore, people can practice ethical consumerism when they boycott products that exploit children as workers, are tested on animals, or damage the environment.  It is also helpful to seek out companies committed to transparency and sustainability efforts.  The goal is to abolish labor trafficking or forced labor of all persons, most especially children.

Visit:  https://www.ethicalconsumer.org                                                       

Possible Solutions include products that are made, grown or produced and are fully American-made, Fair Trade or Survivor-made.

Purchasing any of these products as an alternative is difficult unless the buyer knows where the raw materials come from, the role of supply chains and the impact of American tariffs and retaliatory tariffs.  

 Such information is often unavailable.  The List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor comprises 204 goods from 82 countries and areas, as of September 5, 2024.  It is found at: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods     

One special survivor is Charlie Tebow – victim, MSW social worker, Certified Victim & Survivor Services provider, artist, art therapist and engages in nonprofit management.  To learn more about Charlie and to see some of her art, visit: https://polarisproject.org/survivor-gallery-Charlie-tebow/                        

Before you shop, know where and how products you purchase are made or grown, whether slave labor is involved, and buy items made or grown locally.  You are encouraged to continue your efforts in buying and selling fair trade items.  Fair Trade reduces the demand for labor trafficking. https://www.fairtrade.net/us-en.html   or https://www.fairtradecertified.org/

Well-known to this writer is Danny O’Neill, founder of The Roasterie.  It was founded in 1993 in Kansas City, Missouri.  This is what Danny says is the source of success: 

“From the very beginning, it just made sense to: 

• offer direct trade coffee 
• partner directly with farmers as much as possible 
• pay above market value in order to secure the best coffees 
• develop longstanding, mutually beneficial supply chain relationships
•  build enduring relationships” 

This continues to be the backbone of all that The Roasterie does — from finding delicious coffees to serving them in their Kansas City cafés build enduring relationships.”  To learn more, visit https://theroasterie.com/pages/about

Let us pray:  God, we offer our inadequate words asking for an end to the degrading practice of sexual exploitation and forced labor caused by human greed and power.  We ask that we have the courage to continue to address the tragedy of human trafficking and abolish this tragic practice.  May we together find ways to the freedom for all that is your gift to all people.  Amen.